"Life equals running and when we stop running maybe that's how we'll know life is finally finished."
― Patrick Ness, The Knife of Never Letting Go

Chapter 2: Stuggling

"So where are we going?" Shaun asked, throwing a rubber ball up against the metal box car. The loud bumping of the train shook the car, in a mildly annoying way. The landscape was passing the train quickly, the workers unaware of the children hiding inside it. He glanced over to his sister who was looking over maps and comparing them to their mothers journal. She was wearing a black t-shirt with some nonsense on it, and dark green shorts. She claimed that her outfit was to blend in like the guys outfits in the military. More like she didn't want to sweat in the Texas heat by wearing jeans. He let out a agitated sigh at the sight of his sister, still looking at the maps. "you've been looking at those papers nonstop, why not give it a break?" She looked up for a second only to glare at him, her green eyes icy with determination and aggravation.

"I'll 'give it a break' when we're safe," She snarled, looking back at the papers. "There's a lot of places that we can go that are safe zones as mom puts it," She held up the map in the journal. Her eyes wavered and she turned to look out a slit in the box car.

"I know, I read it first," He mumbled under his breath. "What about it?" He asked, returning to playing with his ball.

"Well I think we should travel to D.C," She shrugged, noticing the dirt smudges on Shaun's cheek.

"Are you serious?" He gaped, looking at his sister in shock. Was she insane? Why in the world would they want to go to the headquarters of evilness, aka, the home of politics. "That's almost 2500 miles away!" He shook his head. That too. "It could take weeks till we get there. Who knows how long with the method of travel we've taken."

"Exactly, they won't expect us to try to get that far so quickly," She grinned, turning to her brother, her eyes twinkling with deviousness. She tugged at her long hair, maybe she should cut it? It was getting rather greasy lately. She pinched herself, stop being so A.D.D., she scolded. "The next train stop should be in Jacksonville. We can stop there for food and try to find a place to wash up," Kris put the journal down, looking up at the roof of the rusting box car. She held up her hand, staring at the contrast of the red tinged roof and her chipped and bloody nails.

"Are you sure about this?" Shaun asked, his tone serious.

"Yeah, I'm sure about this," Kris nodded enthusiastically, pulling her laptop out. She began to type away, creating programs and designing their fake papers. She had to make sure they could start over in life. "You know, the journal said something about other creatures out there...Do you think they really exist?" She asked aloud, looking up at her brother, he hadn't even looked at her while she talked. Just playing with that damned rubber ball of his. She wondered if she could make it explode with her so called powers...

"You seriously brought that?" Shaun raised a eyebrow at her, catching the ball in order to give his sister a incredulous look at the computer.

"I'm a hacker. What am I without my computer?" She bit on her lip in annoyance. "You brought your Shakespeare books." She cursed when she tasted the odd metallic taste of blood in mouth, she bit down too hard.

"t-that's different," He blushed looking away from her. He pushed the Shakespeare book behind him nonchalantly, trying to hide it. He glanced around the boxcar, trying to look inconspicuous.

"But what do you think of my question?" She sighed in annoyance.

"I don't know," He hesitated. "I suppose there must be other creature out there..." He sighed, looking around the boxcar. It was filled with boxes of juice boxes, much to Kris's approval. But seeing as though there wasn't a bathroom in the boxcar, Kris was advised not to drink a lot.

"Just practice your 'magical abilities' Shaun, we might need them," Kris sighed sadly. What did they do to deserve a life like this? Nothing like living a life on the run Kris thought bitterly. "If I can get a hold of a printer, I can make us some fake documents. We can start a new life," Kris offered. Turning her head quickly as she heard a rustling noise. Another noise, and a rat scurried by. "gross," She glared at the thing, trying to zap it. Not like she could use her 'magic' that well anyways. Even if she tried to summon the bright lights, they wouldn't always appear. And when they did, they weren't that strong while other times it was too much.

"Hey, cut it out," Shaun whined, throwing a peanut shell at her. They adorned the floor of the cab so there plenty to use as weapons.

"It's a rat," She said, her expression dead-panned, throwing a peanut right back at him. The cab had most likely been used by other hobos before there time. Kris couldn't help but wonder if throwing the peanut shells were sanitary.

"It's still a living thing," He pouted, the animal had long since fled. She rolled her eyes at him, those green eyes of hers tired and annoyed.

"Whatever, start practicing will you," She nudged him with her foot, going back to typing on the computer.

"Fine," he sighed, concentrating on his baseball, imagining it floating in the air. He opened his eyes to see it was, in fact, floating. He let out a breath of relief and it suddenly went flying and smacked into the side of the boxcar, bouncing back to hit him in the gut. "Damnit!" He shouted, throwing the ball back at the wall. His eyes shined a bright yellow and as soon as the ball came back into his hands, got crushed immediately. Kris looked at him in shock.

"Um, how in the world did you do that?" Kris gaped, staring at her brother with wide green eyes. The sleep deprivation evident in her pale face and tired eyes. She was looking at her brother in shock, how was that even possible? It was rubber!

"I-I dunno," he looked just as shocked as she did. He looked at her, his eyebrows furrowed. "Do you think it had to do with that whole dark thing mom was talking about?"

"What? Like a demon? Demons don't exist, let alone in us. We aren't bad people," She said, her tone angry, "Mom was probably just a bit hallucinatory."

"But she was right about everything else, what says she isn't right about that?" He asked, tugging on her arm. He was trying to get her to look at his face, but she bluntly ignored looking at him.

"Because I said so!" She shouted, fear in her eyes as tears welled up in them. Her head whipped to the side to stare into those big blue eyes of his."Because I said so," She gripped his shoulders tightly, their eyes locking with one another. He hadn't even thought about her being scared about all of this. She was always the tough one so he just thought he could rely on her completely.

"I'm sorry," He breathed out, allowing her to hug him to her tightly. He looked down at the chipping floor in shame, he hadn't even had the courtesy to think about how his own sister felt about all of this. She bit down a sob, shaking her head.

"This is all just way too much. Let's get settled in with the whole running away from an evil organization and the fact that magic exists before we go roaming in more uncharted territory, okay? Hell, if all if that wasn't enough, how about the fact that we just ran away from everything we ever knew and we're kinda screwed," She pulled away from him, looking into his eyes. "Or the fact that we're about to be seniors, and are whole life ahead of us that we had planned might be ruined now."

"Okay," he nodded, smiling kindly at her, the two holding hands. "How much longer to Jacksonville?" He asked, his voice hoarse from lack of water as he tried to divert her worried thoughts.

"A few hours," She whispered back, looking at the trees passing them by through a small slit in the door. "Just a few more hours," She mumbled, slowly drifting off to sleep. It was the first time she had finally been able to sleep in the past 72 hours. And she of all people deserved it.

A few hours later Kris was awaken by a cool hand on her shoulder. Her whole body jolted in shock, shooting up from her position. She charged her hand to attack her pursuer, only to see the peeved smile from her younger brother.

"Shaun," She whispered under her breath, looking at her surroundings. The charged electricity slowly disintegrated in the air as she calmed. They were still in the musky old box car. But they weren't sliding around, or bumping into boxes anymore. It was completely still. Everything seemed like it was frozen in place, if only life were so kind, Kris thought to herself sadly.

"We just stopped, I think we're in Jacksonville. Didn't you say you wanted to get off?" He asked, grabbing her hand, and helping her stand. She let out a groan as her knee caps popped, her neck cracking as she rolled it. Her entire body was tensed and sore from the awkward way she had slept.

"Yeah, make sure we have all our stuff before we leave," Kris said, looking outside, rolling her shoulder. She was temporary blinded by the bright light. She looked down at her watch, it was only 1 p.m. What they found outside that box car was a thick corn meadow beyond the gated area and a small town beyond that. Tall grass surrounded the train and it's station. "Hey, I see a school. That will most likely be our best place to get to for now,"She pointed at the outskirt of the town, the tall building had to be a school. If not, she was sure they could take advantage of it either way.

"We better go before one of the cops spot us. I noticed we passed a police car when we entered the station," Shaun whispered, pushing the tall grass out of the way. They stared at the metal fence in their way. Shaun looked over at Kris warily. Kris's hands immediately darted out towards it, feeling multiple bolts of electricity run through her entire body. But it wasn't painful, if anything, if felt like she was recharging. She still couldn't get over this whole, 'magic was real' thing. She kept getting the feeling she might wake up from a terribly odd dream.

"That was oddly comfortable," She chuckled to herself, helping Hana over the fence before hopping it herself. "Now how about heading to school?" She wiggled her eyebrows, holding up a bottle of soap. "You need it."

"Hey, you're no better," Shaun complained, pointing at her accusingly as they began to walk through the corn field. The tall yellow plants smelled rather sweet under the hot sun. She sniffed herself in shock at her brothers comment.

"But at least I've been using deodorant," She muttered as they walked past a elderly couple, finally making it past the corn fields and into the town. Shaun didn't have a retort to that one, so he resorted to looking at the sky in annoyance. He stared at the swirl of the large white puffy clouds, feeling immediately relaxed as he looked the azure sky. They walked down a few streets, the winding roads confusing the family. It wasn't until they spotted a older couple did they think they were going to make it out of the maze. "Excuse me, where is the school?" Kris asked sweetly, pushing back her bangs.

"T-that way," The older man pointed to his right. "Just down the street." She thanked him, heading in the direction. The elder couple looked back at the dirty kids in shock. "Probably playing hookie," He sneered, grabbing his wife's hand.

"Kids these days," the older woman replied with annoyance, rolling her eyes as they rounded the corner.

"Hey, there's a door over here," Kris whispered, pointing at the back entrance and tugging on the door. The twins peered into the room. They were in the gym room. The basketball courts and the wood floor being a clear giveaway. "Most gyms have showers so lets get in there," She grinned, walking into the empty gym. She looked behind her to see the gym class running laps around the track field, the gym teacher yelling at them in annoyance.

"Man, I'd hate to have outdoor gym in this weather," Shaun remarked, shaking his head in remorse for the kids. He squinted his eyes as he noticed a small girl picking up some trash that had been knocked over from a trash can. The kids seemed to try and stay as far away from her as possible."I'm gonna go in the boys locker, you gonna be fine by yourself?" He asked, scratching at his hair and shaking his head, trying to forget about the image of the girl. His hair was rather dirty and far too itchy for his likings he reminded himself, anything to get his attention back on the important things. Kris laughed at his worried expression before walking away.

"I'm more worried about you honestly, don't get caught," she winked, walking towards the girls locker room on the other end of the room. Once she got to the room, she was met by a office, a group of lockers, a couple of bathroom stalls, and thank the spirits, showers. "Thank the doctor," She mumbled under her breath, snickering at her own doctor who joke. Quickly and rather efficiently she began stripping her clothes off as she headed towards the showers. They were in the back, secluded from the other areas. Lucky for them. She set her bags outside the shower, grabbing some poor girls towel that was left outside her locker. "Mine now," Kris cheered, pulling out her shampoo, condition, and soap. She let out a screech of detest as the cold water hit her naked body, giggling at the feel of water pushing up against them though. She stood away from the water for a minute before taking a cautious step towards the water. Letting out a relieved sigh at the warm water. She noticed she had been playing in the water for too long when the cold water began to burn her arm. Kris quickly changed and began to loot around bags for money. Now she was against stealing completely, but they weren't in the position to be thinking about morals. As soon as she gathered as much money as she could, she stapped her bag over her shoulder once more. She wore a pair of green shorts and a grey t-shirt. Nothing fancy. She decided to put on some eyeliner after finding it lying by one of the sinks. She thanked whoever carelessly left their makeup lying around and exited the locker.

"I was wondering when you would come out," Shaun joked, sitting outside the door, shocking Kris and making her jump at the sound of his voice. "Hey, I was thinking that we might be able to get into the lunch room and score some free food," he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Lunch is over dimwit," Kris sighed. "It's already 2:30, school should be ready to get out in 10 or so minutes. I say we stay in the locker rooms and head out with everyone else to not seem suspicious. We can meet up at the front doors of the school." Shaun pouted.

"If you say so," he sighed, rubbing his tummy with a pout. "I'm so hungry though." He let an annoyed whine before walking away.

"There should be food in some of the kids back packs, just eat that for now. I found some cash that we can use for dinner tonight," She dangled the wad of cash in front of his face.

"Damn, I didn't think about that," he pouted, thinking about which bag would have food.

"That's because you're too nice," she stuck her tongue out at him playfully before walking back into the girls locker room. She could here him muttering about being a bad boy as well before the door closed and blocked out all sound. The two hid in the shower rooms as a group of girls walked into the locker room. They could hear screaming and moaning, the kids complaining about P.E. You think P.E. Is bad? Try living my life, Kris thought bitterly, rolling her eyes at the teenagers.

"There's only two more minutes before the bell rings," one of them shouted.

"Jeez, Mr. Snead never gives us enough time to get changed," another girl growled, putting on her t-shirt and applying a shade of gloss.

"hey, I'm missing 10 bucks," one of them shouted.

"Who cares? You're a rich kid aren't you, just get some more money from daddy," someone sneered. Sorry, Kris inwardly apologized, she didn't like having to steal.

"Whatever," the girl growled out in annoyance, biting her tongue. The bell rang out loudly.

"Saved by the bell," Kris chuckled lightly, allowing the students to head out first before slowly joining them. No one seemed to notice them, good. There was a girl right in front of them that caught Kris's eye though.

She had a pretty round face and a blatantly shy expression. Her long dark brown hair appeared almost black and her bangs went past her left eyebrow to cover her right eye, a flower shaped bow on the side of her head. Her eyes were almond shaped and a light brown that clashed with her dark hair. Her skin was a a warm brown and her lips were large and pouting. She looked a little awkward surrounded by all the talking girls, but somehow she caught Kris's eye. She wore a simple orange t-shirt and dark blue jeans. She stopped suddenly though, causing Kris to bump into her roughly, taking a few steps back in surprise.

"I-i'm so sorry," the small girl stuttered, her face turning red. An expression of fear on her face as she looked up at Kris.

"Don't worry about it," She smiled, patting her shoulder.

"A-are you new here?" She asked, looking up at Kris in confusion. She could've sworn she'd never seen her in her class before...

"Yes, we were touring the school," She laughed nervously.

"Well where are you going now?" She asked, looking off to the side. "Sorry if that's too personal." Something about this girl just made her more and more curious though.

"Um, to meet my twin outside the school. Feel free to walk with me," She smiled kindly, allowing the shy girl to follow her. The two walked in a comfortable silence. It was like walking with a old friend, the shy girl could only smile at the ground.

"Hey where have you been?" Shaun called out for the girls, running over to the group. His eyes met the shy girl and all he could do was gape at her like a fish. "Um, h-hi," he blushed, blatantly staring at the girl.

"Sorry, I ran into your sister and tagged along by my own accord," the girl blushed, shakily pushing back a strand of her long black hair.

"I never got your name by the way?" Kris asked, smirking at her brothers reaction. Oh, he was so interested in her.

"I'm Sage, i'm a junior at the school," She smiled brightly, easily blowing the twins back. There was a pause, slightly confused but mostly familiar for Shaun. It was like the two had known each other all their lives, there was something about this girl. A image flashed before his eyes, the two of them as children, playing in a poorly made playpin. The two were giggling together, holding hands a smiling brightly. His eyes darted to her hand as it ran though her hair. His eyes averted quickly. What was that just now? He wondered to himself. It was like their meeting was inevitable, falling into some sort of whimsical, nostalgic whirlwind. This was the most extreme case of infatuation he had ever gotten. This woman had so easily snatched his heart, just by a smile.

Oh no. Kris stared at her brother in shock. She knew that reaction of Shauns. He gave a small grin, his cheeks pink, and scratched the back of his head. That was the expression he got when he found something he was really interested in. It was one thing for him to like a girl, another to go and to get a crush on her. And already he had one, she could tell. They were twins, you don't doubt the twin telepathy guys.

"I'm Shaun," he said aloud, his eyes widening in shock at the fact that he had just revealed his real name. He glanced at his sister with apologetic eyes, quickly looking back at the Hispanic woman. She was a small woman. Only 5' 1" probably. And damnit, she was just his type. Kris made a move to punch him, hopefully to snap him back to reality but he quickly took a step closer to her, dodging his sisters attack. "And where might you be heading? I'd love to walk you home." She scoffed at his behavior, she must have really interested him because he most certainly was not bold. He was mesmerized by her silent beauty, and that smile, was enough to catch his heart by a string. He was positive she was the girl he saw before, picking up the trash. Kris let out a sigh at her lovesick brother, this might take a while. Her eyes caught a black violin case strapped to the back of a tall man and couldn't help her following eyes. Who was that? And why did he seem so familiar? She took a step to walk towards him before sage's voice snapped her back to reality.

"M-me?" She blushed, fear in her eyes as she stared up at him. "I don't think you want to get caught walking beside me." Her eyes darted around the school campus in worry.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, reaching to set a hand on her shoulder, but quickly holding back before being noticed. He blushed at his bold actions, what was he doing?

"Because-" She flinched as something smacked up against her head and she let out a cry of pain.

"Move it Samara, careful if you talk to her you'll die in seven days," The boy chuckled, laughing with his group of friends. Wiggling his hands as though he was running away from a ghost.

"Seven days," one of the boys whispered loudly, his voice pitched high to add a eery effect.

"What was that," Shaun sneered, his eyes glazing over with that yellow hue of his. He moved to address the boys...with his fists.

"Don't worry about it," She grabbed his arm, quickly withdrawing it with a blush on her cheeks. "As you can see, if you're gonna be moving in here, it's best to avoid me."

"No thanks, I could never leave such a pretty girl to walk home by herself," he smiled, returning by her side. "So, if it's not too much, how about I walk you home?"

"O-okay then," She looked away in shock, how unusual for her. Why was she accepting his offer so easily? She didn't even know the guy, not to mention she was never this bold. But something about this family, just seemed so familiar. The group began to walk towards her house. And then the two began to talk, they had way too many things in common for Kris to enjoy the conversation.

"So what brings you guys here?" Sage asked, the twins looking at one another in anticipation.

"We heard that there is a good...cheer squad out here," Kris covered, inwardly smacking her forehead.

"Oh yes. We have a rather good one. Though..." Sage hesitated. "You don't seem like the cheer leading type..."

"Well, you never know unless you try," Kris laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of her head. The group passed brick buildings, covered with moss and a old woman sputtering nonsense. Her wrinkles deep and her eyes, mad. They walked past her without a second glance, in fear that she might call out to them. Stray trash was scattered among the pitch black cement floor. Red rimmed windows plastered among the walls with clothes hanging upon thin wires taped above the unknown citizen's windows. They were heading in towards the poorer area of the town. You could simply tell by the depressed expressions of the people they passed. They were walking past the town by now, walking towards an abandoned area. Shaun managed to tear his eyes away from Sage to see a photo a lost little girl. Sage was giving scraps of bread to the begging dogs when Shaun's voice shocked her and made her turn around quickly.

"Poor thing," he mumbled, motioning towards the picture at Sage's confused expression. She nodded in remorse.

"A lot of people seem to go missing here," She sighed, pointing to a small restaurant. "they have really good burritos." She looked up at them shyly. "Just in case you guys are hungry..." She shifted from foot to foot.

"I'm starving!" Kris shouted, grabbing the two and walking into the resteraunt.

"She's such a sweet girl!" Kris giggled as they walked back to the school to rest.

"Wasn't she," Shaun breathed out dreamily.

"Wow, lover boy powers-ACTIVATED," She joked, throwing a pebble at him before picking the lock to the gym.

"Kristal," Came a soft whisper in her ears, making her steps waver. Kris blinked her bright moss colored eyes open to see she was once again standing in a meadow of flowers. The bright red tulips sprouting from the soft sand.

"Who is it?" Kris asked, surprised her voice had come out so steady. She began to walk through the meadow, enjoying the feeling of the sand between her toes. And there he was again. The tall man was sitting in the meadow, reading some book. He looked the same as he had the last time she dreamed of him. Only this time he wore glasses, the thick black rims obscuring his beautiful face. "Who are you?" She asked, her voice all but a whisper being carried by the flowing wind. He only smiled, his eyes still staring at the book. "Hey, answer me!" She growled out, stomping up to him. As soon as she touched his shoulder though, he turned to dust and everything around her slowly but surely began to disintegrate. What was up with her having the same dream?

Kris let out a yawn as she awoke. Her dream peeved her out and she wasn't able to fall back asleep. It was 5 a.m. Wonderful. In all honesty they should start getting ready, students should be arriving here soon for sports practice or something. She rolled around to smack Shaun roughly against the back.

"Get up, we need to shower, get dressed, and eat if we're gonna head out soon," Kris yawned.

"About that...I was thinking we should stay here for a bit longer," Shaun mumbled.

"What?" Kris shot up. "Why would we do that?" Of course, she already knew the answer to that one.

"Oh come on, give me a break. We've been traveling non-stop for almost 4 days. What's it gonna hurt if we take a small detour. Besides, we still need to finish out our junior year..." He bargained. Kris let out a sigh, she also wanted to stay a bit longer. Her dreams about that boy was becoming more and more vivid and she couldn't help but remember the boy from yesterday.

"I guess you have a good point there..." Kris mumbled, standing up to stretch. "But if I start to feel even slightly like we're in danger, we're leaving...okay?" She wagged a finger at him.

"Of course, captain!" He saluted, jumping up with a wild grin on his face.

"Well then...we better go sign up then..." She smiled with twinkle in her eyes.

"Sage!" Shaun shouted, running towards the girl he had met yesterday.

"S-shaun," She blushed with a smile.

"It's good to see you again," Kris waved towards the shy girl.

"Y-you too," Sage nodded, joining the twins little group. The three walked into the school together. Kris laughed at a joke Shaun made, tugging on his arm as they walked through the crowd.

The three walked back to her house once again, talking and joking with one another. The three made a good pair, it was like they had been together all their lives. Sage looked up mid-sentence and let out a terrified shriek. Just as the sound reached their ears, a small girl with rugged black hair and panicked blue eyes turned into the alley way the group was walking through. Her eyes met Sage's momentarily and in a blink of an eye, she went through her. Sage stared at her in pure horror. Rather, there wasn't anything particularly wrong with the girl, just the fact that there was a knife sticking out of the side of her head.

"T-the missing girl is right there!" She shouted in surprise, pointing towards a group of boxes and pushing herself up against the wall in fear. "Oh god I think she's dead," She cried out, tears falling down her face.

"What are you talking about?" Shaun asked, grabbing ahold of her wrist. "What girl?" He asked as she fell to the ground.

"Her ghost, I see her ghost. I see all of the ghosts," She shook her head. "I'm so scared of them." The sibling locked eyes, before picking the small girl up. "I swear I'm not crazy!" She shouted in fear, her eyes wide, those brown orbs of hers darting from sibling to sibling. They must think I'm insane! She yelled inwardly.

"Don't worry," Kris smiled kindly, rubbing her back while Shaun wiped away her tears.

"Just look at me," Shaun smiled, their eyes locking. Images of a life he'd never lived flashing before his lives. The two of them were playing outside with one another, laughing and smiling with one another with he placed a shy kiss on her cheek. He blinked in surprise, as did she. What was that? They both wondered, curiosity lingering in their eyes. "Don't look at anything else for now, it's just us two." Kris let go of the girl, pretending to gag once more. "No one else." His words were somehow calming and she couldn't help but feel the rest of the world drift away from them. A few minutes passed before she turned away.

"I can feel that the ghost has left for now," Sage blushed, trying to regain her sanity as well as dignity. "You guys must think i'm crazy. Everyone always thinks i'm crazy." She shakily pushed back her hair. "Even my own aunt and uncle. But it's in my bloodline to be able to see ghost. It's every other generation of my people usually," She sighed. "And now it just seems i'm spewing more nonsense."

"We believe you," Kris shouted at her, biting into a apple she took from one of the kids bag. The bright red flesh disappearing in her mouth as she chewed loudly.

"R-really?" Her gaze wavered towards the bold girl who was so unlike her. But oh how she wished she could be like Kris. Speak her mind whenever she wanted, not be afraid of everyone and everything around her.

"Yeah, I kinda figured that if we exist, ghost probably do to. Eh, I don't really know, I'm just going with the flow for now," Kris shrugged, tossing the apple out as she reached the core. "So how big is your house?" She asked, standing up and patting the dust off of her shorts.

"Decently big, why?" Sage asked, turning her head to the side in confusion. Her hair brushing to the side, revealing her creamy colored neck.

"We need a place to stay," Kris smiled kindly, moving closer to the small woman.

"Kris," Shaun growled out, his eyes glaring at her.

"What? It's true. She seems pretty interesting as well," Kris shrugged, glaring right back at her brother. "Besides I'm tired of staying in the gym."

"Don't go bothering her with our problems," Shaun glared at her.

"N-no I'm sure I can house you," Sage called out, hoping to break up the fight between the twins.

"No, we'll be fine. Honestly, we don't want to impose," Shaun smiled, glaring at his sister.

"Whatever," Kris muttered, rolling her eyes dramatically. "Fine, we'll just go back and sleep in the fucking gym," she grunted.

"T-then I'll come see you later tonight, at around 6 with dinner. You guys are probably hungry?" Sage assumed, blushing wildly once again at how bold she was being.

"I'd love to see you," Shaun said immediately, blushing at how blunt he sounded. "T-that is, I'm sure Kris would love to eat!" He laughed nervously, walking away before she could say anything in return.

"You're such a dork," Kris snickered, wincing in pain as he punched her arm.

"Shut up," He mumbled under his breath, cheeks still a light pink.

"found you," came a deep voice, whispering in Kris's ear.

"W-who are you!" She shouted, ignoring everything around her. They were standing on top of an ocean, staring at one another.

"I could ask you the same thing," He said. "Why do you keep appearing before me?" He asked.

"Me? Aren't you the one appearing before me?" She looked up at him in confusion, her hand reaching out to touch him. This was just a dream, afterall.

"You are-" His words began to fade away as everything around her began to melt. The world crumbling into a white blur.

"Shit," She mumbled under breath. "I was so close this time..." She forced her aching body into a sitting position it was then that she opened her eyes completely. Blurry and somewhat painful, her eyes tried to accustom to the light as well as her surroundings. Blinking in the dark gym, Kris suddenly remembered where she was. They had returned to the gym, pulled out some gymnastics mats and she ended up taking a nap. It was there fifth day at the school. Shaun insisted they stay. After all, who knew when the next time they would have fresh running water to shower in? Rather, that was his main excuse that he was using for the time being.

The cool floor burned her hands at the touch and she could hear a high pitched frequency, pounding in her ears. What was that noise? If the killer headache wasn't bad enough, then this inconsistent noise sure as hell wasn't helping.

"What is that?" Kris asked, stumbling over her words.

"What is what?" Shaun asked, looking back at his sister. His dark brown hair was spiky and messy, it looks like he just got up as well, Kris thought to herself.

"That noise," Kris said, grabbing at her head. She closed her eyes tightly. It's not like it was a loud sound, just loud enough to bother her. And the noise was so blatantly frustrating, it was like a noise that was trying to warn her. Warn her? She thought to herself in confusion, or perhaps it was fear...

"There isn't any noise?" Shaun raised an eyebrow towards her. "Maybe you should get more sleep," He chuckled, putting down his book.

"Whatever," She rolled her eyes, doing a back bend to stretch out her muscles. They tensed and relaxed as she got up, feeling her sore muscles screaming at her. She could really use some Advil right about now. Slowly, the noise began to disappear, the ringing in ears had finally ceased.

"Hey, wasn't Sage supposed to come with food today as well?" Kris asked nonchalantly, looking up at her brother innocently.

"She should be here soon," Shaun trailed off, his eyes flickering towards the door. The family were no strangers to disappointment. Perhaps she had finally gotten tired of the family.

"Of course she will," He looked at the door defiantly. She would surely come. Right? But they were strangers, it didn't matter that he felt some kind of attachment towards her. In the end, they were just two people who barely knew one another. Even he, was losing hope. And where would the family be if they didn't have hope? There was a loud pounding on the door and his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. Maybe he could hope, even if it was just a little. He ran towards the door, unable to contain his excitement. But when he opened the door, he was met with a horrid sight. There stood Sage, her shirt sleeve torn off and drenched in blood. She looked up at him, her eyeliner smeared down her face like she had been crying. Blood was on the edge of those big pink lips of hers and he could see a bruise forming on her cheek. Sage held onto a container of what looked like lasagna, the side covered in a sticky red substance. Her face was pale and her expression, that of pure and undeniable fear. Kris noticed that her long black hair was wavy due to the rain outside, she assumed she straightened her hair.

"H-help," Sage whispered, falling into Shaun's open arms as though all the life in her body had been suddenly stolen. He looked at her small legs to see cuts on them, her knees bleeding profusely. His eyes shone a lethal yellow, retaining the odd color as he looked down at her.

"Who did this to you?" He growled out, the sound he uttered sounded so utterly feral it sent shivers down Sage's back in fear. Kris looked out behind her to see a heavy rain storm, the sound of thunder ringing in her ears.

"I-they-and then," She began to hyperventilate, the weight of what had just happened crashing down on her. Sage grip on the plastic container tightened, her nails digging into the plastic painfully.

"Breathe," Kris suggested, rubbing her back. Sage nodded, taking a deep breathe, allowing her body to relax. She needed to explain her story, and quickly.

"I had just gotten in a fight with my aunt and uncle. They were saying how I need to get over the whole, seeing ghost thing, and my uncle. He-smacked me in the face," her hand reached out to touch the bruise beginning to form on her cheek. Tears were in those big brown eyes of hers, and the sight of it made Shaun sick. "A-anyways. He said he called up some doctors and I grabbed the food and ran out. But then there were these people who were waiting for me. They weren't armed but they attacked me nonetheless. I'm small, so I'm kinda fast and I got away from them. The only place I could think of running was here to you guys," She cried out. "I was so scared." She hugged Shaun tightly not noticing the murderous look on his face. Kris was shocked at how defensive he was getting. Sure, she was angry too. But not enough to kill the next person who even touched her. "They said something about being part of some organization, and that I was needed for a higher purpose?" She shook her head in confusion, thinking back on the people who attacked her. Shaun suddenly pushed her back in shock, watching as she scrunched up her nose at his reaction.

"Did you say the organization?" He stared at her, wide eyed. Kris cursed under her breath, running inside and packing everything up.

"Y-yeah, why?" She stuttered, watching as Kris ran around the gym picking up their belongings. "Does that mean something to you guys?"

"What it means is that we need to leave this town," Kris shouted over at them, Shaun shook his head sadly. He turned back towards his sister, his arm still surrounding Sage protectively.

"What about her? We can't just leave her here," He looked over at his panicking sister.

"What do you want to do? Bring her with us?" Kris asked, strapping the bags to her back.

"Yes," he turned to look at Sage, his eyes serious, "Sage. The organization are really bad people. They will catch you and test on you. They aren't nice people. Your best bet of survival is running away with us. I know this is a lot to take in but-" She cut him off with his hand.

"Hell yes," He blinked at her in shock. "I will most definitely run away with you guys. I can't stand it here and if you say i'm in danger then this is the best answer, right?" She smiled brightly. "But all my stuff," She looked down sadly. "My pictures of my family are back there." Shaun was still surprised at how quick she was to jump on the chance of running away. There wasn't even a hesitation. Even he had hesitated at the idea of running away from the orphanage. Every day his resolve wavered as he thought it would simply be easier or better for them to return home. But this girl, how could she agree so quickly?

"Wait, are you sure about this? We don't know what's going to happen to us. Nor can we guarantee your safety. Yet, you still want to run away with us?" Shaun asked, his eyes locked with hers.

"One day, I'll tell you my life story. And that day, you'll realize why I want to run away so badly," She grabbed his arm, looking into those bright blue eyes of his. "So for now, please just trust me, and take me with you. Please." Her voice was begging, pleading him to run away with her. And by god, he wasn't going to object to it. He smiled down at her, hugging her tightly.

"Then let's go get those pictures of yours," Kris grinned, her arm lighting up with electricity. She stepped outside the door in the pouring rain. The cool wetness on her fingers startled her, and she looked up to see those large rain drops smacking up against her face. "With all this lighting, I'm stronger than ever," She flashed a peace sign at the kids. Sage gaped at her, in particular, her arm that was bolting with electricity.

"You want to go back?" Sage cried out in shock. "It's too dangerous." She grabbed her other arm. "You could get hurt."

"Hey, my twin is really attached to you. I'm the oldest so I'm naturally gonna be tough. Don't worry about it," She waved her hand passively. "Just follow us and we can protect you while you get your stuff." Sage nodded solemnly before running towards her house, the twins not far behind.

"I hope you know that we're about to risk everything for this stranger," Kris whispered to Shaun as they went running in the direction of the house.

"I know, I know," He shook his head. "I don't know why, it's just..." He hesitated for the correct words. "I feel like we're connected or something. I just, I can't leave her," He blushed. The three had been running in silence for a few moments. She recalled a image of the Sage and Kris, playing in a river and shook her head. Even she felt like they were connected. Somehow. They knew each other, for that she could be certain.

"These better not be temporary feelings," Kris mumbled under her breath as they approached the house. Well, it was more of a barn than a house. And it was most definitely, red. And it was also most definitely silent. Kris held up a army knife she had bought at the nearby 7-11. Apparently, all the gas stations in Texas had them. They approached the white door carefully, peering inside slowly. She gagged when she saw what was inside. There laid, what she guessed, was Sage's aunt and uncle in a pool of their own blood.

"This is sick," Shaun growled out, covering his mouth. He covered Sage's eyes before she could see and Kris slowly led her upstairs.

"Let's just get her stuff and get out," Kris cried out in disgust, running up the stairs with Sage as Shaun scanned the perimeter. Kris walked upstairs as Shaun made sure the downstairs was safe before joining her once more. The two walked up to her room to find that it was almost empty. Just as bare as their room back at their Aunt's Shaun noted bitterly. Sage grabbed everything quickly and easily. There wasn't much in the room anyways. She simply stuffed everything into her black backpack. She packed the simple things, underwear, clothes, brush, toothbrush, some money she kept under her bed, a box of photos, some odd smelling herbs tied together with a necklace, and a odd looking wood box with a crescent moon on it. "That outta do it," She smiled up at the twins, getting ready to walk downstairs just as they heard the front door open and slam close. They froze as they heard the loud footsteps. Peering out the door with wide, scared eyes.

"Way to fucking go! You just had to attack her immediately," A man shouted out angrily. There was a loud crashing sound where he had knocked down some books in what the twins guessed as anger.

"I didn't think she could run so fast, she was so small," The other man argued back, his voice meek and apologetic. The twins looked at one another, then, at the window to Sage's bedroom. Shaun rose a eyebrow, shrugged and tiptoed over towards it. He slid the window open quietly, and ever so slowly. The two argued downstairs loudly and Shaun glanced at the small lamp on Sage's desk. He grabbed it, unplugged it, and threw it out the window as far as he humanly could. They could hear the loud smashing noise it made as it collided with the ground. And apparently, so could the men downstairs.

"Hey that's probably her! Most likely thinking we're gone," The boy snickered, running out the front door.

"Don't go screwing it up this time," the other man shouted back, his voice much older and strained than the other man as he followed after his partner.

"Come on," Shaun whispered, grabbing the backpack and running down the stairs quickly. They entered the kitchen, Kris quickly grabbing some food and a can opener before running out the back door after her brother.

"Good thing you scouted downstairs first," Kris whispered, the three running side by side. They ran a different path than the one they took to get to her house. Taking back alleys that seemed to lead on forever before finally arriving to the train station. By now, Kris was panting heavily, not used to having to move around quite so much.

"Jeez, you need to join a sport," Shaun snickered as they hopped over the once electrically charged fence.

"Oh shut up," Kris snapped, letting out a annoyed and ever so aggravated sigh. "We just ran 6 or so miles!" She growled out, her tone bitter. She looked over to her brother just as he hopped the fence to the train. "The train should be leaving in about 10 minutes if my schedules are correct," Kris said, looking at her brother and Sage. "So if we're gonna get on and hide, we're gonna need to do it now." They nodded and began to look for a appropriate boxcar. They were looking at a freight train and Kris thought back on the debate she once had about trains. There was a law passed in the 1980s about freight trains needing a caboose wasn't there? They no longer were required to have one, but some trains still had them, though they were never used. They walked to the end of the train, seeing a rectangle flashing red. A FRED, she thought to herself. This had to be a caboose then. There wasn't any use for them having them anymore with advanced technology but some companies still kept them. And that thought was enough for her to look around to make a makeshift key to the boxcar. She found a railroad plate with a spike poked through the square hole in the plate. She remember looking at some hobos blog about this. She thought back on what he wrote. 'Now, you take the square spike and place it into the square hole of the car carrier door and turn counter clockwise and voila, your auto-rack door opens, then you can load up inside and ride in style!' She did exactly what her mind reminded her, surprised that it worked. She motioned for everyone to follow her as she entered the cabooses. There were a few chairs, a bed, a table, and a bathroom. It was perfect.

"talk about good luck," Kris chuckled, closing the door and locking it behind them. Adding an electric charge to the door just in case.

"Woah, I didn't know trains were tricked out like this," Shaun gaped, plopping the bags down and sitting lazily on one of the chairs.

"That's because most train yards don't do it anymore. We're just lucky," Kris shrugged, sitting down on the bed. "The train should be going to Knoxville, Tennessee, then we might be able to take a bus up to Washington, D.C," Kris said aloud, looking at the two kids. "Well then Sage, I suppose we should tell you our life story," She nodded to herself.

"I am rather curious," Sage blushed.

"Well then, I'll let Shaun tell you," She grinned up at the two. Hana sat down next to her. "But seeing as though we're gonna be traveling together for a while, why don't you go ahead and tell us your story?" Kris asked, rolling on her stomach to look at the blushing girl.

"N-now?" She asked, her eyes darting from her to the door. Kris sighed at her reaction, she didn't want to force her into anything.

"How about this, after the first day or so of traveling together, you can tell us. By then we should all be rather comfortable together," Kris suggested, looking at the hispanic woman.

"Gracias," Sage smiled, cursing as she realized she was speaking the wrong language.

"De nada," Kris laughed, turning away from her brother and Sage. Allowing him to explain their story to the girl. Well, the useful parts that is. Not that they were going to go in full detail with this stranger.

Shaun let out a exhausted sigh, making herself comfortable on one of the chairs. Oh, how he felt tired.

"Well it all started a few days ago-" He began, going into the details of their adventure and their destination, the two holding hands all the while. Courtesy of Kris. And despite their good fortune of finding a nice caboose, the teens couldn't help but feel like they would have to struggle the rest of their lives. And this, this was only the beginning of a very long journey.

Me- So I'm rather excited about this series. I've finally gotten most of the story planned out. And MAN is it gonna be one hell of a thriller. It's mixed with mystery, romance, adventure, fantasy, sci-fi, my god it has everything! I've grown to love this story and it's characters :D And I hope that you guys will too. I truly hope you've enjoyed the story so far. Don't forget to add a review. I won't know how to become a better writer or improve this story otherwise. Thanks!